It was a huge weekend for Pershing County basketball. The varsity and JV boys and girls all got off to good starts. The varsity launched their preseasons at the Serpent Classic in Hawthorne — meanwhile, the JV hosted a tournament in Lovelock.
PCHS varsity girls
go 4-1
The varsity girls beat Smith Valley (55-28), Mineral County (67-17), Virginia City (49-11) and Sierra Sage Academy (47-30).
The Mustangs lost to Fallon 61-39.
The Fallon game was close until midway through the second half.
"They pressed us the whole game and we were prepared for that. We ran into foul trouble with eight minutes remaining and Fallon took advantage of that," said coach Lee Houston. "Throughout the weekend we were able to work on a lot of things we needed to. We also saw a lot of things we need to work on for the Whittell tournament."
"Kaydance Happy and Aaliyah Allen secured the paint for us and did a great job. Meanwhile, Raegan Burrows, Taylor Garland and Anna Happy drove teams crazy with their defensive pressure which turned into a lot of easy points."
"Yasmine McKinney, Ayren Sam, Kaylen Halverson, and Kyria Angel were all solid in their roles. They helped the team come together to get better and better."
Varsity boys go 1-4
The varsity boys played short for various reasons. Eight Mustangs beat Smith Valley (65-53). They lost to Sierra Lutheran (50-35), Hawthorne (61-51), Yerington (45-25) and Virginia City (65-43).
"With the limited number of players the kids got tired quicker. We would play good first halves and then slowly let the games slip away. Friday night against Hawthorne we played better both halves and fought until the bitter end against a good Hawthorne team," coach Jesse Canchola said.
"Rebounding and turnovers are our Achilles Heel. We will get back to work and correct those things. Our goal is to get a higher seed this year. We made sixth seed last year after numerous years of playoff drought."
JV hosts Lovelock tournament
JV teams from Incline, Yerington, White Pine, Lowry, Wells, Fernley, Lovelock and Battle Mountain competed in the annual tournament. The games spilled over into both gyms and drew plenty of spectators, many from out of town.
Pershing County coaches Damien McKinney (girls) and JJ Meyers (boys) praised their team's efforts.
"This is such a great way to start the season," Meyers said.
What's next?
Preseason games continue this weekend. JV heads to Battle Mountain this Friday and Saturday, Dec. 9 and 10.
Dec. 8-10 the varsity boys and girls compete in the Whittell Tournament. The girls play Owyhee, Pyramid Lake, Carlin and Eureka. The boys play Owyhee, Sacramento County Day, Westwood and Eureka.
On Thursday, Dec. 15, the JV and varsity boys host Pyramid Lake at 6 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
On Wednesday, Dec. 21, the JV boys and both varsity teams host Virginia City. JV leads off at 4:30 p.m. The varsity girls play at 6 p.m. The varsity boys tip off at 7:30 p.m.
